Former SL Capital executive Whit Matthews joins Aberdeen

  • Whit Matthews had worked at SL Capital since 2009
  • Joined Aberdeen this month
  • Third investment director to leave SL Capital since 2014

Whit Matthews, a former investment director at fund-of-funds manager SL Capital Partners, joined Aberdeen Asset Management this month as a senior investment manager, a spokeswoman for the asset manager confirmed.

Aberdeen, with $402.9 billion under management, has been in expansion mode of late, acquiring businesses to grow its alternatives business, including hedge funds, real estate, infrastructure and private markets, Buyouts reported. Last year, Aberdeen acquired Flag Capital, a lower-middle-market venture capital and private equity manager in the United States and Canada.

Matthews left SL Capital in May after a stint that began in 2009, according to his LinkedIn profile. It is not clear why he left.

Matthews is at least the third investment director to leave SL Capital in the past two years. John Cancellieri left earlier this year to join Permal Capital Management in July, Buyouts reported. He had worked at SL Capital since 2008.

Jamie Ebersole, previously a managing director at SL Capital, left in 2014 to launch his own advisory shop. Like Cancellieri, he had joined the firm in 2008. SL Capital is the private markets group within Standard Life Investments, a subsidiary of Standard Life, a FTSE 100 listed insurance company.

Since 2014, SL Capital has hired 28 people for its private markets business, Yvonne Soulsby, a spokeswoman for the fund-of-funds, said.

Action Item: Learn more about Aberdeen here: http://www.aberdeen-asset.us/aam.nsf/usaboutus/home

Bagpiper and busker David Whitney of Aberdeen, Scotland, plays the bagpipes near Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament in central London on September 10, 2014. Photo courtesy Reuters/Suzanne Plunkett